Raith Rovers’ Allan Walker admits he was delighted to finally play a match again at the weekend after his second stint of “pre-season training” in less than six months.
Rovers’ draw at Partick Thistle on Boxing Day was the first time the side had seen action in 36 days, since their Scottish Cup loss to Alloa.
During that time, the Kirkcaldy side have mostly been cooped up indoors working on their fitness.
Now, Walker admits he and the rest of the Raith players are determined to work off their frustrations on the pitch, starting on Wednesday at Falkirk.
He said, “I was delighted to finally get a game at Partick.
“I felt we were in the ascendancy for much of the match and were unlucky not to pick up three points.
“But picking up a point at Firhill is still a good result, especially considering we had been without a game for more than five weeks.”
He added, “During that time, we have probably done another full pre-season.
“We were lucky to be able to use Hearts’ indoor facilities and while we could not pick up match fitness we were really put through our paces.”
Walker said, “I thought we looked really good at Partick and, although we were obviously tired, we were still going right to the end.
“But the gaffer would expect nothing less from us he is a hard taskmaster and he would not accept us easing off, even if it was Christmas.”Looking to go topWhile Raith were left kicking their heels because of their enforced lay-off, they could only look on as local rivals Dunfermline deposed them at the top of the division one table.
Now, Walker says Rovers are ready to regain first place and aim to be there to stay.
He said, “Dunfermline have taken advantage of all our call-offs and are now league leaders, and fair play to them.
“But they have played a game more than us and it is in our own hands to overhaul them again.”
He added, “We aim to be there to stay and we definitely do not feel any pressure being at the top there is a lot more being at the other end of the table.”
Rovers defender Mark Campbell could be in line for his second start in 10 months after slotting back into the starting line-up on Boxing Day as Craig Wilson the man he replaced against Partick has been struggling with a sickness bug he picked up on Christmas Day.
Falkirk boss Steven Pressley has added winger Jack Compton to the squad that demolished Stirling Albion 5-1 in the Bairns’ last game, some 46 days ago on November 13.
Pressley is hoping that the break has not affected his men too much.
He said, “We have worked hard on keeping the players’ fitness levels up and now it is time to get back to winning games.”
Having lost to Rovers earlier this season, Pressley is in no mood for a repeat, adding, “We were ahead in the game at their place and lost 2-1, so it would be good to turn the tables this time out.”